


Stranger (이방인)

by AKUMA_jpg



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Double Patty AU, F/F, Fluff, Wendy hates burgers but she likes Irene
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:00:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28897032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKUMA_jpg/pseuds/AKUMA_jpg
Summary: Joohyun works hard and longs to be a broadcaster in the news, reporting and covering important stories. She works hard to get her life on track, provide for her sister, and chase after her dreams.Seungwan is a carefree architect major who spends most of her days staring up at buildings in the big city. The one-time she’s not looking up at the clouds, she looking at Joohyun.
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Son Seungwan | Wendy, Kang Seulgi/Park Sooyoung | Joy
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	Stranger (이방인)

**Author's Note:**

> Really didn't want to start another series when I already have a lot going on but this one was just too sweet not to post. Hope you enjoy and remember to support all of OT5's promotions in the future! :)

With nothing but the end of her lit cigarette warming her entire body, Seungwan stomped it out in impatience. Seulgi should’ve been here by now. The crowded center of people surrounding the mall square was quite lively, dissimilar to her current mood. Her friend was late, she was cold, and that was her last cigarette. Moving to buy some cheap tasting hot chocolate from a random booth nearby instead, hoping her hands would warm up while she drank it. 

Carding a tired hand through her short blond hair and shoving the other in her leather jacket. She was up early cramming for her morning classes, added living in the city can make things a bit,  _ hectic. _

To be honest, she didn’t even like the mall. It was her beloved friend, Kang Seulgi, that decided to drag her here so she could tag along while the older girl looked for presents for her girlfriend. Yuck, another thing she was still sour about. Seulgi and her girlfriend were, as much as she hated it, annoyingly cute and every time they hung out she ended up being the third wheel. 

_ “It’s because you turn down every person I try to match you with,” _ Seulgi told her one time, while they were eating lunch, the  _ three  _ of them. 

_ “Unnie, I know some people at work that would—” _

_ “It’s alright, Sooyoung-ah, I’m fine.” _ She cut off Seulgi’s girlfriend, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance. 

The truth was, she didn’t need anyone. People were too bothersome to deal with and the idea of her being hurt in the near future because of that someone brought a frown to her face. It was an unavoidable option, her getting hurt. Because that’s just who she was, someone that loved with every fiber of their being until there was nothing left, nothing left to give or take. And she hated that about herself. She couldn’t even have casual hookups without getting sentimental, she was too much of a big baby—as she would refer to herself in her head. 

Mindlessly wandering the vast expanse of the semi-outdoor shopping mall, she found herself in the restaurant area, occasionally looking through the joints windows to see if anything—food, presumably—caught her eye. But this time, it wasn’t food. Eyes flitting up to the restaurant nameplate quickly, she sees the words  _ “Double Patty” _ above the door. Inside was probably the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen. And not some random diner eating there, instead, it was a waiter. A small woman, hair pulled up into a high ponytail, her cute ears sticking out with a few strands of stray hair tucked behind them, a complexion paler than a blank sheet of paper, and eyes that looked like she’d get lost in them. 

She didn’t realize that she was caught staring until a familiar body bumped into her’s. About to turn around and give this person a piece of her mind when her expression quickly fell, it was Seulgi. 

“Sorry I took so long, Wan. I had to make up a good excuse so that Sooyoung wouldn’t get a whiff of what I was doing without seeming too suspicious.” Her friend, one that she had known for quite some time was standing next to her. Standing a few good inches taller than her, with long layered cut black hair, was her childhood friend—Kang Seulgi. 

“Not a problem, Seul,” she sighed, unbothered. 

“What are we looking at?” Seulgi turned to position herself as Seungwan was originally standing, peering in front of them. She read the restaurant’s name, “Hungry for…burgers?” 

“Y-yea, I haven’t eaten anything all day.” She lied, jumping at the chance to see the beautiful stranger up close. 

“I didn’t know you liked burgers?” She and Seulgi entered the vintage American-style diner and were seated immediately. 

Not really paying attention to what her friend was saying as she was looking around for that waiter. Not being able to spot her unforgettable face, she turned her full attention to the menu. She  _ didn’t  _ like burgers, they were too greasy and made anyone who ate one smell heavily of onions after but she just wanted to see that girl again, “Uh-huh, yeah.”

“So, I was thinking about getting Sooyoungie that bag she was talking about a long time ago…Or maybe a nice necklace from Dior instead?” Seulgi might as well have been talking to herself, Seungwan had her priorities elsewhere. 

But knowing Seulgi, the bear would end up paying way too much for a Christmas gift for her lover. Seulgi was just like her, she loved wit her whole soul, only she was lucky enough to find someone who loved her back. Also knowing that both of them, the Sons and the Kangs, came from rather affluent families with fat wallets; which made her feel less worried about Seulgi splurging on her girlfriend’s gift. 

“Hmm, what looks good.” She picked up a menu, flipping through its laminated pages before stopping at the large burger selection.

“Or would she like that dress that just came out, you know, the Chanel one?” Seulgi was still going on about her stupid gift. She could get Sooyoung a pile of rocks and the latter would still love it, as long as it’s from Seulgi. 

“It’s still early, December only just started. We can look around later. But now—”

“Food, yeah I know.” Seulgi sighed, picking up her menu. “Ha, can’t remember the last time I’ve eaten a burger.”

“ _ I know _ , it’s all lobster and caviar with you.” Seungwan rolled her eyes playfully. 

“Hey, I don’t eat lobster  _ that _ much.” She pleaded with innocence. “At least I  _ eat _ , compared to the time you spend holed up in your room.”

The two best friends were also roommates, under the guise that living together would make commuting to university easier since they were inseparable. Living in a rather large complex her dad owned. 

“Are you ready to order?” A sweet voice interrupted their ongoing squabble, catching Seungwan off guard. 

It was  _ her. _ God, she looked even better up close, smaller too; not that that’s saying much since she, herself, was only 5’2”. Blinking twice before she realized that the waiter was staring at her, waiting for her burger order.

“Um, I-I’ll have the #4 with n-no tomatoes please.” 

“I’ll have the same, extra cheese.” Seulgi said without batting an eye at the woman standing at their table.

The small woman taking both their orders before navigating through the sea of tables that were slowly being filled up. Seungwan watched her go, in a hurried manner, all her movements were precise and practiced like she knew what she was doing. 

“What’s up with you?” Seulgi nudged her, sipping on a coke someone else brought to their table. 

“M-me?”

“Yeah, first you suggest we eat burgers—might I add that I’ve never seen you eat a burger in my entire 10 years of being your friend—and then you stare that lady down like you’ve never seen another human before.” She leaned back in her chair.

“Maybe I need more sleep.” She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands before letting out an annoyed groan. 

“Now that I’ve been thinking about it, you have been staying up later these days.” Seulgi resided. 

Their food was brought out only a couple minutes later, the perks of coming at a conveniently nice time in the day where the restaurant was bust but not  _ too _ busy. Much to her surprise, the burger was very good, might’ve even changed her whole perception of them. Maybe she’d just have to come around more… 

“$50!” Seulgi gasped, looking at the bill after she had devoured her meal. “$50 per burger!”

Well, maybe that explained why it was so good. The two of them splitting the bill as to not take too much of a punch to their bank accounts. They leave the place full and a lot happier, Seungwan still thinking about that girl—but not before Seulgi tears her away from her seat to drag her on a series of shopping trips before she finally decided on a gift for her lovely girlfriend.

___

Sitting in the corner of the buzzing kitchen, Joohyun types furiously on the laptop balanced on her knees. The small little milk crate she was placed on being her makeshift chair as she tries to pump out a whole essay assignment on her 15-minute break. She only had another 2-hour shift left before she would finally go home. The only benefit of working insane hours at some boujee burger joint was the pay. This job was the only reason she was able to go to college and pay for the small apartment that she and her sister lived in. 

_ “Unnie, you don’t need to take that extra shift when I start working, I got commissioned recently! Once I get more traction, we won’t need to keep saving.” _ Her younger sister, Yerim had said to her optimistically earlier this morning. 

God, that would be nice. Living carelessly instead of paycheck to paycheck. Her feet hurt, she was tired, and she just wanted to go home and spend time with her sister. The both of them being in college didn’t help either. But Yerim was smart, she had a scholarship that covered the bulk of her expenses, majoring in music composition writing. She had one too, a scholarship, but it was taken away. 

That one damned opinion piece she wrote in junior year that pissed off her teacher enough to fail her. The topic was about Korean society and it’s enterprise, the assignment was to create a prompt with the focal point on societal issues and she chooses:  _ “Write a story set in a historical era when men and women’s roles were dramatically different than they are today.” _ And  _ of course _ , it was political, and  _ of course _ , her teacher was a bigotted airhead that would fail her for simply sharing her opinion on radical feminism. 

_ “Why the hell would you let me pick my own prompt then!” _ She remembers screaming to herself when she opened the letter that her scholarship had been revoked as a consequence of failing her major class.

The timer on her phone marking the end of her break, she got up with a groan—refastening her apron on before braving her last shift. She just needed to finish her last year, then she’d be able to job hunt for something of actual substance. 

Normally the people she dealt with were courteous, sometimes they were not. Outraged at her for messing up their orders or politely thanking her for the great meal, but one customer remained in her mind until after she clocked out. A girl, a blonde girl that kept staring at her. Now if it was anyone else, she would’ve been creeped out, but there was something about this girl that made her think. Why was she staring at her so much? Did she have something on her face? Was she wearing her apron inside out again like she did that one time?

It plagued her mind, even when she was trying to stay awake on the late train ride home. The way the girl’s face turned all red when she asked her for her order, of how anytime she went out to wait more tables, the blonde’s eye’s never left her trace. She almost wanted to yell at her.

Yell,  _ “Yah! Stop staring at me! Do I look funny or something?!” _ But she didn’t she just pretended to ignore it and carry on her shift. The dark tunnel of the train system outside her window contrasted the green-tinted fluorescent lighting inside, much too bright for her to sleep. 

Trudging up her small apartment complex, taking the keys out of her bag before slamming her shoulder into the door just to get it open. The previous renter had a break-in robbery, the door before the new one having been smashed in, and the landlord replaced it with a door that one a few centimeters too big. Making it a chore to open it every time she entered or left her place. 

“I’m home,” she announced while taking off her coat, shoes, and throwing her keys onto their little designated place all at once. 

“Ah unnie, dinner’s on the table.” Her sister waved to her, eyes still trained on her laptop screen, bent over her desk as she typed her latest work. 

“Did you make it?” Joohyun raised one of her eyebrows as she remembered the last time she ate something Yerim personally cooked, not a fond memory. 

“ _ Relax _ , I ordered.” she laughed. 

Their apartment was a bit small, but Joohyun thought it was perfect. The main area, a combined living room, and a small kitchen, with a large window and balcony, opened to let the sunset orange hue paint the cream-colored walls of their home. House plants in every little nook and pictures placed on modern shelves. Their conjoined desks placed across the old leather couch in the living room where Yerim sat. 

Taking the tie out of her hair and letting it fall past her shoulders, she dramatically drapes herself over her sister’s slightly smaller ones. Hugging her close to her as if she hadn’t seen her in years, because it sure felt like it. 

“Unnie, you smell like burgers.” Her little sister giggled as she patted her arms. 

“What are you working on right now?” Joohyun takes a glance at the long document written on her screen. 

“Freelance work, mostly commissioned stories people pay me to write.” Yerim averaged more money than her, but her job was more steady than commissions. Either way, both the Bae daughters were tired. 

The decision to move away from home to enroll in one of the most prestigious Korean universities was a bold move. Especially since their family didn’t come from money, and with Joohyun’s lost scholarship, things only got harder. But their grandma always sent gifts, visited when she could, but it was getting rearer as she tried to run the family restaurant with her grandpa. And they didn’t have a mom, well, they  _ did. _ From what she was told, her mother got pregnant at a rather young age when she first had Joohyun, and after having Yerim she disappeared. 

Being the older of the two, Joohyun was too young to remember her mom, she was only 1 when she left, no real memory of her. Part of her believed she was dead because how someone could leave their two daughters with a clear conscience and not contact them for 22 years? Seemed too cruel for real life, but that’s exactly what it was.

Turning away and leaving her sister alone she ventured into the kitchen, a wrapped plastic bag sitting on the counter. Fishing out the steamy package, it was her favorite, tteokbokki. Contrary to popular belief, Joohyun did in fact, not like burgers. Especially ones that were $50 and why someone would pay for a $50 burger was beyond her. She was so used to being conservative with her savings and making food with her own hands at a reasonable price that she couldn’t bring herself to even look at one of those things.

Snapping open her wooden chopsticks, she let herself forget about her worries for a second. 

___

Seungwan groaned as someone ripped her curtains open, intruding in on her personal space. Last she remembered, Seulgi’s dropped her off at their apartment and left to go hang out with Sooyoung. The next thing she knew her roommate was violently shaking her awake.

“Seungwan, Seungwan, Seungwan, Seungwan—”

“What!” She irritatedly yelled. 

“Your dad is here.” 

“Huh?” She threw the blankets off her legs and got up with a grunt. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, “Dad?” 

She spotted the older man standing in her foyer, dressed in a formal business suit and tie. She was still wearing her sleepwear, a form-fitting black t-shirt, and pajama pants. It wasn’t unusual for her parents to visit her place, but it was unusual for them to visit her on Tuesday morning when they had work. 

“Ah, Seugnwan-ah! Sorry to wake this early but I was on my way to work and I thought I’d just stop by.”

“What brings you here?” She didn’t mean to sound so curt with her dad, it was just that she wanted to cut straight to the point and go back to bed before her afternoon classes and before her tiredness left her. 

“Well, your sister’s getting married soon and your mother and I thought it would be a good idea for you to bring someone.” 

_ Really, you too? _ She thought. She guessed she was getting at that age where she  _ had _ to be dating someone or it became everyone’s business. Her dad was basically stopping by to tell her to stop messing and get some pussy. 

“I’d rather you and mom not play the matchmaker.” She deadpanned, making her way to the kitchen to grab some coffee off the pot Seulgi brewed earlier. She gestured to her dad, “Coffee?” 

“Yes, please.” He took off his shoes and entered the place. Seulgi had long returned back to her room, the faint sound of music coming from her closed door. “We only want to make sure our daughters are happy.”

“I know,” she sighed. “But I’m fine. Just focusing on school right now. Maybe when I graduate I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“How is school by the way? It’s been a while since we’ve been able to talk.” He held his given mug in between his hands. He looked just like her, a short man around 5’10”, gray hairs here and there but for the most part, he had had youthful features. Dressed in his fitting black suit, matched with a deep red sating tie her mother probably picked out for him. 

“Good, I’m coming into the long stretch of the semester, exams are soon.” She was an architecture major finishing up her final year. For the most part, she was pretty smart and strong-willed, it was always the tests that always tripped her up. She had horrible performance anxiety and the thought of taking a test, presenting in front of others, or being judged on a professional level made her stomach do backflips. 

“Hmm, and you have a job lined up after right?” Asking out of sheer curiosity, if she didn’t her dad would have no trouble fitting her into the family company. 

And as much as she would love to uphold family values and work for him, she really didn’t have a thing for business like her sister did. 

“Yes, that internship I told you about.” A group of seniors before her she was able to befriend in her advanced classes had told her about the little collective they were starting, by now they had become pretty recognized in the field and contacted her. Her sketches and ideas showed promise and they wanted her to join them on the board, a good addition to their small—but talented—team. 

“I’m glad.” He took a big sip of his coffee before glancing down at his expensive watch, eyes widening in surprise. “My! The time, I really have to go, got a meeting in 30 minutes.”

She watched as her dad quickly patted her on the back before zooming out of her apartment, She laughed to herself at how sudden and energetic her dad still was. Getting up to check on her roommate, she opened Seulgi’s door. 

Her best friend’s room greatly differed from hers. Seulgi kept many posters on her wall, mostly of movies, other old vintage shows she liked watching, and some animated Japanese films she thought were cute. She had a nice big window with its curtains drawn open, different from the balcony access Seungwan had in hers. 

The bear in question was furiously scribbling on her Ipad pro, $100 stylist pen in hand. What was her latest creation? Ever since they were kids Seulgi always kept a notebook nearby, drawing anything and everything from landscapes to people passing on the street; while Seungwan built a multitude of modern houses with her lego sets. Soon enough it grew much bigger than a simple hobby, her taking it to a more professional level in college and turning it into a career. Seulgi was a design major when all she really wanted to do was draw random things that popped up in her head all day. Instead, she complied with her parent’s wishes and took time to actually master the technique and use it as means of getting money through her already set-up job at some design company. 

Seungwan didn’t quite know to the extent of what Seulgi actually did as a graphic designer because the latter never liked talking about work. But she guessed she and her were similar because thinking about her future plans made her feel a little bit overwhelmed. Also in the sense that she would spend hours at a time just drawing out the format of her room on her homework or something of different shaped skyscrapers from her imagination. 

“What are your plans for today?” Seungwan leaned against her now opened door frame. The spark in their conversation prompting Seulgi to turn down the music she was listening to on a speaker. 

“Uhh, no classes today. Probably going to finish some prints then grab lunch with Sooyoung and her parents. You know how they are,” Seulgi crossed her arms, wearing a simple graphic t-shirt and sweats. 

Oh, she knew. Sooyoung was one social butterfly and was always out with people, including her parents. She was the perfect daughter, and Seulgi just so happened to be the perfect in-law (or in-law to-be). 

“You?” Seulgi leaned back in her chair, folding her arms behind her head and crossing her legs.

“Study, classes, study, sleep.”

“ _ Eat, _ ” Seulgi added.

“Right, that too.” She smiled, turning away to do just that. 

“Don’t work yourself too hard, Son Seungwan!” She hit her on the butt playfully before closing her door before the smaller girl could retaliate. 

“Yah!” 

___

Knocking the bottom of her cigarette carton against her open palm before pulling one out and placing it between her lips. She had a lot of time in between her next class and the sound of her stomach grumbling brought the attention of strangers passing by. She needed to eat. 

Wandering into the same massive shopping mall she was at yesterday—what, it was close to campus—she remembered a certain place. That burger restaurant…

If her memory didn’t deceive her, she knew exactly where she was going. It was almost the lunch rush, and they were only taking orders at the counter. But there she was, that girl. Her face heating up just thinking about having to order food, she puffed up her chest and got in line. Reading the menu and rehearsing her order in her head at least 50 times until she got to the front.

“What can I get you?” The girl’s eyes drawn to the tablet in front of her, still finalizing the order before her. 

“H-hi, can I just get an o-order of fries and a shake.” Internally punching herself as she stuttered a bit speaking.  _ Ah, whatever. Good enough. _

She saw as the girl behind the counter’s eyes widened as she spoke as if she had just realized something. They locked eyes, Seungwan trying her hardest not to make any weird noises as those big doe eyes looked back at her for a second before they flitted back to the screen she was looking at earlier. 

_ Does she remember me? _

“Vanilla or strawberry?”

“W-what?” She was caught off guard, not really in the right mind to be able to answer anything other than yes or no questions. 

“Would you like your shake in vanilla or strawberry?” 

“O-oh, strawberry please.”

The girl had her hair tied up just like last time, now she was wearing a navy blue button-up, almost the same shade as her apron but in a lighter hue, with its sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She wore minimal makeup but she was still the most beautiful person Seungwan had ever seen. 

“That’ll be $30.78.” She looked up at her, this time with a look of certainty in her eyes. Showing her that she was just like any other customer. Squashing any thoughts Seungwan had of her remembering who she was.

_ $30.78! _ She only ordered two things and that’s how much it cost! Almost choking on-air as the cashier asked her cash or credit, she quickly pulled out her wallet and handed over her black card. The girl eyeing her suspiciously at the card holder’s name, almost like she was trying to memorize it. 

“Thank you, you’re order will be ready shortly.” 

Seungwan didn’t have any courage left in her to say anything else, simply just nodding to find a seat somewhere. Sighing at the big total on the receipt she was handed, she folded it over and pulled out her laptop instead. Thinking that it would probably be a good idea to get a jump start on her homework before her next class. 

But what she didn’t notice was the same girl’s eyes glued on her instead of it being the other way around. 

All she knew was that she’d be eating a lot more burgers from now on.

**Author's Note:**

> If you could support me on [My ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/akuma_jpg) it would be greatly appreciated. You can also commission stories on there!
> 
> Follow me on [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/akuma__jpg) where I will post updates for this series and my others ;)  
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